John thomas jones



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

J. T. JONES. GAR- COUPLING.

No. 483,848. Patented 001;; 4, 1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J.T.JONES. GAR COUPLING.

No. 483,848. I Patented 0.0L 4, 1892.

714178855835 JIZV/Ztfll.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN THOMAS JONES, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,848, dated October 4, 1892.

Application filed March '14, 1892. $erial No. 424,937. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern.-

1 3e it known that 1, JOHN THOMAS JONES, painter, of the city of Toronto, county of York, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Couplers; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to that class of carcouplers in which the coupling-pin is pivoted in the draw-head in such a manner as to permit the link to displace it when entering the draw-head, and which will instantaneously return to its normal position and prevent the Withdrawal of the link the instant the link has cleared it 3 and the object of the invention is to so construct the link and pin that they can be operated from the side of the car, and thus obviate the necessity of going between the cars to either couple or uncouple the same; and the invention consists, essentially, of a pin rigidly mounted on a spindle loosely journaled in suitable bearings formed in the sides of the draw-head and projecting therebeyond, said pin swinging rearward into the drawhead and turning the said spindle in its bearings when struck by the link during its entrance into the draw-head, a lever connected to one or both ends of said spindle for the purpose of turning the said pin rearward when found necessary to do so to release the link when uncoupling the cars, and a link consisting of a U shaped piece of metal the ends of which are bent to form eyes, through which passes a spindle loosely journaled in bearings formed in the side of the draw-head and projecting therebeyond, the said spindle flattened to provide a means for turning the eyes of the link simultaneously with the said spindle, the ends of said spindle being fitted to receive a lever or levers, which project to the side of the car, the whole being constructed and arranged as hereinafafter more fully set forth in the specification and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of a draw-head, showing the link, the spindle on which the link is mounted, two slots in the lower part of the draw=head, into which the link drops when in its vertical po sition, the coupling-pin, the spindle on which the coupling-pin is mounted, and the levers for operating the coupling-pin and the link. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of two draw-heads, showing them coupled by means of the link and swing-pin. Fig. 3 is a plan view showthe slots in the under side of the draw-head, the link, and the levers for operating the link and swing-pin. Fig. 4 is a view of the spindie on which the link is mounted, showing the flattened surfaces. Fig. 5 is a view of the spindle on which the swing-pin is mounted.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

The draw-head 1 is of that type of drawheads usually employed on freightcars and cars of a like character. In the top of the draw-head 1 is a slot 2 to the rear of the rib 4 at the front of the draw-head 1 and entering the elongated throat 3. Formed in the sides of the draw-head l are two circular openings, which form the bearings for the spindle 5, fitted with a square or polygonal shoulder 6, on which is mounted the coupling-pin 7, provided with an opening 8, corresponding in size and shape with the shoulder 6.

The coupling-pin 7, as shown in the drawings, is somewhat after the shape of a new moon and extends upwardly through the slot 2 in the top of the draw-head 1, the upper horn 7' resting upon the top side of the metal at the rear of the slot 2 and the lower horn 7 resting upon the lower inner side 1 of the draw-head l. Extending upwardly from each end of the spindle5 is alug 9,fitted to receive the end of a key-lever 10, securely held in place by means of a pin 11, passing through said key-lever and lug. I

The lever 10 extends to the side of the car and is supported in suitable brackets fastened to the car-end. The end of the lever 10 is cranked to provide suflicient purchase to readily operate the coupling-pin 7. If found convenient, a lever may be attached to each end of the spindle 5, so that the coupling-pin 7 can be operated from either side of the car. Each drawhead is provided witha link 12, consisting of a U-shaped piece of metal of any desired length and thickness,

Extending outwardly from each end of the spindle 13 is a lug 14,fitted to receive the end of the key-lever 15, similar in construction-tothe key-lever 10 and extending to the side of the car. The turning. of the key-lever 15 raises or lowers the link 12, as the case may be--that is, when it is desired to couple two cars. The lever15 is turned to bring the link opposite the mouth of the draw-head 1 and allow it ,to enter therein. The continued advancement of the link 12 swings the lower end '7 of the coupling-pin 7 to follow the curved dotted line shown in the drawings until the end of the link 12 has cleared the end 7 of the coupling-pin '7, when the coupling-pin 7 instantaneously drops back into its normal position and allows the link to draw uponit.

The drag of the link 12 upon the pin 7 causes the horns 7 a and the upper side of WVhen it is found necessary to uncouple the cars, the cars are backed down upon each other until the front ends of the draw-heads meet. The lever 10 is then turned to swing the coupling-pin 7 until the lower end 7 clears the link 12, at which time'the engineer j Immedi-' can be signaled to pull forward. ately the link 12 has been withdrawn from the adjacent draw-head of the next car, it drops into the vertical position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, two slots 16 being formed in the under side of the draw-head for that purpose. The slots 16 are formed in the under side of the draw-head 1 and extend inwardly from the front face of said drawhead, and are so located as to receive the side bars 12 of the link 12. By providing each draw-head with a link 12 the inconvenience and annoyance of lost and broken links is,

1. A car-coupler consisting of draw-head,

a slot formed in its upper side, a couplingpin pivoted in the draw head, one end of which rests upon the inner side of the bottom of the draw=head and the other end ex tending through the said slot and curved to 7 b to bear, respectively, upon the draw-head 1 of the lower inner side 1 of the said draw-head, relieving the spindle 5 of a great portion of the strain. a

rest upon the metal surrounding said slot, a U-shaped link the ends of which are bent to form eyes, a spindle passing through said eyes and journaled in the sides of the drawhead, the ends of said spindle fitted to receive a lever extending across the end of the car to the sides and adapted to raise the linkv to enter the adjacent draw-head of the next car, and slots formed in the under side of the draw-head to receive the side bars of the coupling-link when the coupling-link is in its verti cal position, substantially as described.

2. A car-coupler consisting of a draw-head having a slot formed in its upper side to the rear of the rib at the front of said draw-head,

a curved coupling-pin mounted on a spindle journaled in suitable bearings formed in the sides of the draw-head, one or both ends of said spindle fitted to receive a lever extend ing across the end of thecar to the sides, said pin adapted to be turned rearward and upward by said lever, a U-shaped link the ends of which are bent into eyes the inner sides of which have one or more flattened surfaces, a spindle passing through said eyes having flattened surfaces to engage with the flattened surfaces of the eyes, one or both ends of said spindle fitted to receive a lever extending across the end of the car to the side and adapted to raise the coup'ling-linkto enter the adjacent draw-head of the next car, .and two longitudinal slots formed in the under side of said-draw-head, which receive the side bars of the coupling-link when in its vertical position, substantially as described.

3. A car-coupler consisting of a draw-head having a slot formed in its upper side and to the rear of the rib at its front end, two slots formed in its under side, extending lougitudinally inward from'the front of said rib, .a 'U-shaped coupling-link the ends of which are bent into eyes having their inner surfaces flattened, a spindle passing through the said eyes and journaled in suitable bearings formed in the sides of the draw head, said spindle having flattened surfaces to engage with the flattened surfaces of the said eyes, .a lug extending outwardly from one or both ends of said spindle, fitted to receive the key- 'lever rigidly connected to said lug by means .of a pin passing through said key-lever and lug, said key-lever extending across the end of the car'to the side and cranked at its free end, said coupling link adapted .to be raised into a horizontal position by the movement of said lever and the side bars of the link enter- I ing the slots in the under side of the drawmy invention,

head when hanging in its vertical or normal position, a coupling-pin located within the draw-head and having a polygonal opening :therethrough through which passes a correspondingly-shaped spindle, the ends of said spindle vjournaled in bearings formed in the sides of the drawhead, and a lug projecting outwardly from one or both ends of said spindle and fitted to receive a key-lever rigidly con neeted to the said lugs by means of pins passing through the said key-lever and through the said lug, said lever extending across the end of the car to the side and having its free end cranked, said lever adapted to turn the coupling-pin rearward and upward when uncoupling the oars, said coupling-pin extending upwardly through the slot in the upper side of the draw-head and curved to rest on the surrounding metal, substantially as de- 10 scribed.

Toronto, February 18, 1892.

JOHN THOMAS JONES. In presence of CHAS. H. RICHES, M. E. ANGELL. 

